Althouse: I've developed this quirk...

August 20, 2010

I've developed this quirk...

... of not completely shutting cabinet doors and drawers. What's that about?

57 comments:

HT said...: Completion anxiety. Some people leave a morsel of a meal on their plate.; 8/20/10, 7:05 PM
Chennaul said...: Efficiency?

I do the same thing...

That's my excuse.; 8/20/10, 7:08 PM
mesquito said...: One of these nights you'll walk into your darkened kitchen and whack your head on the corner of a door that has swung open. End of quirk.; 8/20/10, 7:09 PM
Tank said...: I do the same.

Drives my wife nuts.; 8/20/10, 7:13 PM
traditionalguy said...: That is usually the sign of taking on too many things at once, also called multi tasking. Try to slow down and smell the cabinet doors. There will be enough time to do everything that is important.; 8/20/10, 7:15 PM
Ron said...: You can't close your drawers?

Oh my.; 8/20/10, 7:26 PM
former law student said...: You're not done yet.

Easier to grab something out of an open drawer when you're cooking, than to keep closing and opening the drawer.; 8/20/10, 7:29 PM
chickelit said...: Is Meade out of town?

Maybe he was closing things up behind you all along.; 8/20/10, 7:30 PM
rhhardin said...: This drawer has not been closed in the four years since the photo was taken.; 8/20/10, 7:34 PM
chuck said...: Age and distraction. But don't stop blogging, a few open doors are a decent trade off.; 8/20/10, 7:37 PM
jamboree said...: I do that.

It's a cross between laziness and efficiency. It's the same urge that makes me not want to make the bed because I'm just going to be getting back in it later, so what's the point? I bridged the distance with a comforter instead of a bedspread, but even then, if no one's home but me, it doesn't get made.

Right now I'm the only one home for one more week and I am looking at an opened box of uncooked pasta that I left out because I'll just be eating it every night, so why should I put it back in the cupboard? I could be playing piano.

This habit drives every female I come into contact with absolutely insane and some of the guys. I advise you nip it in the bud while you still can.; 8/20/10, 7:45 PM
Paddy O said...: I don't know. But this quirk is one of the earliest things that bothered my wife about me when we got married.

I am a bit better.; 8/20/10, 7:48 PM
Becky Jo said...: You're trying to pick a fight with Meade?

WV: alogica confirmation that I'm right!; 8/20/10, 7:49 PM
Anonymous said...: Well, Althouse, you always seem to leave your mind a little bit open too, no matter how forcefully you might have stated your opinion here on your esteemed blog.

You add, you correct, you carry forth with humility. 'Tis much better than shutting the cabinet doors of the mind completely.; 8/20/10, 7:52 PM
AST said...: Creeping senility.

Next: forgetting to flush and leaving your turn signal blinking.

Oh, the humanity!; 8/20/10, 7:53 PM
jamboree said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 8/20/10, 7:54 PM
campy said...: I haven't seen the drawers of my wife's dresser fully closed in over 30 years.; 8/20/10, 7:55 PM
jamboree said...: I have another idea. Will Meade close them for you if you don't do it? Maybe you're getting used to having someone around that will deal with such things and you know you no longer have to do it yourself?; 8/20/10, 7:55 PM
Deborah M. said...: Why close it? You're just going to open it again.; 8/20/10, 7:58 PM
bagoh20 said...: RH, Vicky had a certain dignity even as a pup. Cute girl.; 8/20/10, 8:00 PM
RLB_IV said...: "One of these nights you'll walk into your darkened kitchen and whack your head on the corner of a door that has swung open."

Yes, it is true. I have been there and done that more than once. After asking Scorro to please close the doors and getting cursed out in Mexican I made a plan. A simple solution, self closing hinges. Heh. Worked like a charm but I got cussed out again. The woman is totally crazy but she cleans and cooks to my satisfaction and the grand kids love her when they visit.; 8/20/10, 8:00 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "You're trying to pick a fight with Meade?"

I *never* fight with Meade. It's not even a concept that makes sense.; 8/20/10, 8:01 PM
The Dude said...: Incipient senility or fear of death. You can fend off death by not finishing things. Based on the number of things I need to complete, I am going to live forever.; 8/20/10, 8:05 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I cant wait until the Bush is dumb meme and the Obama is a Muslim meme meat up and compare notes.

Until then Lem (me) is on the them stupid dumb fuck camp.

I'm not leaving.. I could not if I wanted to. i just want to fight the Althouse orthodoxy..

La Doxolojia en mi lengua natural.

A Dios el padre celestial y al hijo nuestro redentor,
y al eternal consolador.. unidos todos celebremos.. amen.; 8/20/10, 8:07 PM
RLB_IV said...: Well Althouse, you found the right man and Meade found the right woman.
It's all about "help mates" is it not?
I do recommend self closing hinges.
Just damn, now I'm thinking about self closing toothpaste tubes! Enough already...; 8/20/10, 8:08 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: The Althouse household is a celebration.; 8/20/10, 8:13 PM
traditionalguy said...: I have to admit the look of rooms in the house is often a work in progress, like Gothic Cathedrals. But the day we are welcoming company everything disappears into its hiding places behind closed drawers and doors. You may not see Meade as company anymore. That is a good sign. So try inviting some friends over.; 8/20/10, 8:16 PM
Calypso Facto said...: I heard the best response to "making my bed is stupid when I just have to get back in it later" from an Army drill sergeant who responded with "Then I suppose you don't wipe your ass after you shit? You're just gonna shit again too!"; 8/20/10, 8:34 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: I'm very bitter about this Mosque that will apparently against all odds will still go up.

I was coming here (Althouse) looking for some kind of an explanation as to why it is logical that I'm right.. that I'm against it.

Coming here I've learned that Its nothing to do with logic or with rights.. it does have to do with the idea that says - you know I may have the right to do this but I'm going to make a request the bigger thing.. a request of my fellow human being.

I dont know waht else to say.; 8/20/10, 8:35 PM
Palladian said...: The solution in my kitchen? Get rid of the doors and drawers. Problem solved.; 8/20/10, 8:48 PM
Mutnodjmet said...: I have this affliction, too -- all of my life. It has become rather a "signature". I tease my husband that if I die before he does, I will come back and open all the cabinets as a ghost -- just to let him know I am still there.; 8/20/10, 9:02 PM
policraticus said...: You're becoming like my wife. Do you leave just a little bit of your drink in the glass, too?; 8/20/10, 9:03 PM
lucid said...: What a sweet post...

I would speculate along the following lines:

You may be feeling some rising tension or anxiety that you are trying to avoid and so you are going into a slighly preoccupied (dissociated) state.

The state you are in involves not only avoidance but also at least some anger.

There may just a bit of depression around the edges, a tiny little hint of hopelessness or weariness.

You won't feel this way too long. You'll feel more your other self soon.; 8/20/10, 9:12 PM
Unknown said...: This quirk is called old and creaky - like the rest of us.

Either that, or your inner slob is working its way to the surface.

campy said...

I haven't seen the drawers of my wife's dresser fully closed in over 30 years.

As long as you've seen her drawers and what's inside them, it's OK.

Ann Althouse said...

"You're trying to pick a fight with Meade?"

I *never* fight with Meade. It's not even a concept that makes sense.

Of course not.

And World War II was a difference of opinion.

With contusions.; 8/20/10, 9:13 PM
Phil 314 said...: Its a guy thing; 8/20/10, 10:31 PM
Phil 314 said...: I *never* fight with Meade. It's not even a concept that makes sense.

All couples fight. The sign of a successful couple is their ability to "fight fair".

(Personally, after 30 years we're still working on that.); 8/20/10, 10:32 PM
Chase said...: No memory problems here!

3 things that changed after we got married:

- I now put down the toilet seat

- I now put my dirty laundry in the hamper

- I now have a separate pair of reading glasses in every room in the house including the bathrooms, and all 3 cars.

- I now put down the toilet seat; 8/20/10, 10:50 PM
former law student said...: rhh:

Carpet?

In the kitchen?

*shakes head*; 8/20/10, 10:53 PM
prairie wind said...: My husband leaves cupboard doors open because he's trying to kill me. They'll find me lying on the kitchen floor with a triangle dent in my forehead. I'm going to look pretty pissed, too.; 8/20/10, 10:53 PM
former law student said...: palladian -- Go visit the Smithsonian. Julia Child followed the same philosophy, except that she had every thing hanging from pegboard, like Grandpa's workshop. (Her husband had drawn outlines of the various items on the pegboard, to show what was missing and to make them easy to replace.) All the knives were stuck to magnetic strips. I was pleased to see she had a Deemster slicer.

My fear is that at my house, left outside of cabinets, everything would soon be covered with a greasy fur, like the ceiling fan. Not wanting to re and rerewash the same things, I stick them in cabinets. Except the teakettle.; 8/20/10, 11:00 PM
Palladian said...: palladian -- Go visit the Smithsonian. Julia Child followed the same philosophy, except that she had every thing hanging from pegboard, like Grandpa's workshop. (Her husband had drawn outlines of the various items on the pegboard, to show what was missing and to make them easy to replace.) All the knives were stuck to magnetic strips.

I'm well-aware of Julia's set-up as she was an early inspiration and constant muse for my cooking.

I also have my knives stuck to magnets— It's the only way to store good knives. You can (sort of) see my knives in the large version of this image.

My fear is that at my house, left outside of cabinets, everything would soon be covered with a greasy fur, like the ceiling fan. Not wanting to re and rerewash the same things, I stick them in cabinets. Except the teakettle.

Yes, this is the one drawback of having everything out in the open, though the pans that I use frequently don't have time to develop a grimy film, and the others I don't mind washing before use.; 8/20/10, 11:49 PM
David said...: You are becoming like my dear wife.

She has her reasons, you have yours. They most likely are quite different. Anyway, since I can't fully fathom why she does this, I have no idea why you do.

Sometimes I close them for her.

Sometimes I don't.

Do not let it bother you.

Life is mysterious.; 8/20/10, 11:57 PM
AllenS said...: In the back of your mind, you say "I've got tenure, I don't have to close the door."; 8/21/10, 5:59 AM
Opus One Media said...: Hey Ann...I got this thing about opening a loaf of bread..the twist tie thing...and feeling complete only when I open it and toss the twist tie away...I'm not kidding.

It is immense satisfaction knowing the twist tie is gone. I hear you with the cupboard doors.; 8/21/10, 6:04 AM
Opus One Media said...: It could also be explained by Meade....just a thought; 8/21/10, 6:04 AM
caplight said...: maybe Mead is opening them after you close them to try and slowly drive you mad. When you are sufficiently crazed he will take over the blog and assume your on-line identity. sleep lightly Professor.; 8/21/10, 6:28 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: I don't know, but my roommates do that, too. My theory:

Too much wine.; 8/21/10, 8:37 AM
Hazy Dave said...: I suspect it's avoidance of the clunk sound when the drawer or door slaps the cabinetry at the end of the stroke. Go ahead and make the noise. Play some more percussive music around the house, to get in the mood. (There's been a higher than usual musical content here just lately, hasn't there?) Kinks and the Who from the 60's isn't a bad place to start, and I can recommend their more obscure brethren the Creation to extend and introduce slight variety.; 8/21/10, 8:49 AM
Jennifer said...: My drawers close themselves once they get to a certain point and this is causing me to not close my cabinet doors all the way. I keep expecting them to close themselves too. I'm irritating myself with this new habit.; 8/21/10, 9:02 AM
virgil xenophon said...: Thank God! Now I can tell my wife I'm not the ONLY one! (small consolation to long-suffering her, I'm sure) Glad to see I'm in good company (sort of. :) ); 8/21/10, 9:31 AM
Julie C said...: So it is possible to develop this habit as an adult? And here I thought it was just my 11 year old trying very hard to drive me nuts. I was enjoying making my speech: "We spent good money remodeling your bathroom! Now quit leaving the cabinet drawer open or you'll run into it and break it!" I figured if I said it often enough it might get through.

Both of my kids leave closet doors open too. Oh well. Other than that they are pretty much perfect ...; 8/21/10, 11:42 AM
Trooper York said...: Well it has to be that you are enjoying what Meade is leaving hanging out of his drawers.

So to speak.; 8/21/10, 11:50 AM
Fred Drinkwater said...: From "The Next Witness" (a Nero Wolfe story):
Wolfe and Archie Goodwin are investigating a murder (what else?) and are in a suspect's room, waiting for her to show up -

"Wolfe told me curtly 'Look around'.
I did so. Bella Velardi was a crack lover. A closet door and a majority of the drawers in a dressing table and two chests were open to cracks of various widths. One of the reasons I am still shy a wife is the risk of getting a crack lover."

So you see, you are spoiling your chance to catch a gent like Archie Goodwin. It's a damn shame...

WV: wingshe flew in on.; 8/21/10, 11:56 AM
Deborah M. said...: I heard the best response to "making my bed is stupid when I just have to get back in it later" from an Army drill sergeant who responded with "Then I suppose you don't wipe your ass after you shit? You're just gonna shit again too!"

LOL. Good point

wv: crugh; 8/21/10, 2:18 PM
former law student said...: "We spent good money remodeling your bathroom!

Alex, what is phrases I've never heard anyone say for $1200?

Even Wally and the Beav had to share a bathroom.; 8/21/10, 3:24 PM
Ann Althouse said...: 1. "Too much wine." No, I'm consistent throughout the day and I never drink before dinnertime. And I also don't drink too much. Either a glass or 2 glasses of wine. Rarely more, and never as much as 3 glasses of wine.

2. "I suspect it's avoidance of the clunk sound when the drawer or door slaps the cabinetry at the end of the stroke." Yes! That's been the theory in the back of my head. Thanks for jogging it loose. I'm worst about this when I'm home alone and things are very quiet.

3. Meade's response was that I "lacked closure."; 8/21/10, 3:27 PM
howzerdo said...: This quirk has been the subject of several letters recently in Dear Abby (or maybe the Ann Landers replacement column, can't remember).; 8/23/10, 12:17 PM